Coeliac food recommendations

still a dancing queen

Thanks Jim for your reply. I've been reading the info on the links you provided and it appears that the weekly cost of the gluten-free diet was E68.43. To calculate the amount of supplement they deducted one-third of income, which in the example given was E61.93, and so the supplement would be (have been) E6.50. My niece gets E107.70 jobseeker's allowance, so 1/3rd of that is E35.90. It seems she would have gotten E32.50 if she'd applied before 1/2/14, but nothing if she applies now. The site offers no explanation at all as to why new applications are not accepted. This seems very arbitrary, or as my niece would say, very random!

jim salter

still a dancing queen wrote: »

Thanks Jim for your reply. I've been reading the info on the links you provided and it appears that the weekly cost of the gluten-free diet was E68.43. To calculate the amount of supplement they deducted one-third of income, which in the example given was E61.93, and so the supplement would be (have been) E6.50. My niece gets E107.70 jobseeker's allowance, so 1/3rd of that is E35.90. It seems she would have gotten E32.50 if she'd applied before 1/2/14, but nothing if she applies now. The site offers no explanation at all as to why new applications are not accepted. This seems very arbitrary, or as my niece would say, very random!

I believe it is a total disgrace and looking at the other dietary supplementary allowance offered, there should be outrage about this.

The Coeliac Society of Ireland is not pushing as hard as they could

goat2

It is the same problem with the diabetic products, they are priced way over the top,

still a dancing queen

I posted a thread on State Benefits to find out more about the possibility of some help with the cost of the diet. The general response seems to be unsupportive of the idea that any financial help was necessary or should be provided. One view regarded all specialist gluten-free products as luxuries and that Coeliacs should manage on naturally gluten-free products rather than getting hung up on bread and pasta (and expecting the taxpayer to help). Another who is a Coeliac claimed that apart from GF pasta he follows a non-processed diet which is the same cost as a non-coeliac diet. Another agreed that a Coeliac diet is expensive if you insist on eating processed foods, but that he can feed himself and his wife for 50 euros per week and spends almost no more on his wife's food than on his own apart from flour, he does not believe a subsidy is the answer. Should I encourage my niece to avoid these specialist products and forget about Social Welfare supplements and tax rebates? Is it possible to follow a healthy gluten-free diet at little or no extra cost?

tossy

still a dancing queen wrote: »

I posted a thread on State Benefits to find out more about the possibility of some help with the cost of the diet. The general response seems to be unsupportive of the idea that any financial help was necessary or should be provided. One view regarded all specialist gluten-free products as luxuries and that Coeliacs should manage on naturally gluten-free products rather than getting hung up on bread and pasta (and expecting the taxpayer to help). Another who is a Coeliac claimed that apart from GF pasta he follows a non-processed diet which is the same cost as a non-coeliac diet. Another agreed that a Coeliac diet is expensive if you insist on eating processed foods, but that he can feed himself and his wife for 50 euros per week and spends almost no more on his wife's food than on his own apart from flour, he does not believe a subsidy is the answer. Should I encourage my niece to avoid these specialist products and forget about Social Welfare supplements and tax rebates? Is it possible to follow a healthy gluten-free diet at little or no extra cost?

You should definitely encourage her to stay away from that holier than thou shower, attitudes like that are about as helpful as gluten to your neice!

honestly i think a lot of meat, veg, rice, fruit, potatoes is a good staple for a diet, and it does all tend to be naturally gluten free.
i love bread but it is pricey. i was chatting to a woman who was recommending making porridge bread which would do for ages - i haven't yet!

i think anything else i buy specially gf is generally as a treat. whether that's cakes, biscuits, pizza, eclairs, cornettos. it's not stuff i actually need. so if someone is new to it i'd suggest not rushing out buying specially gf stuff or at least not regularly

aldi do have 89c gluten free sausages though, i'll throw that out there...

mille100piedi

I wouldn't eat any gluten-free processed food. I just don't trust other people prepare the food that I eat. I bought years ago a pack of cookies and after reading the ingredients i noticed that they were made with pea protein. I think I am eating cookies but I also eating peas?then people start having a problem with a lot of food and they don't even know why. Eating gluten now is really like eating plastic. I eat meat, fish and veg and i don't need anything else. I make bread sometimes using coconut, almond or flax seed flour. Many people are not coeliacs but gluten affects them very much. My boyfriend couldn't lose weight and he had terrible mood swings, doctor said he was depressed/bipolar but he just stopped eating gluten and now is not any more dr jekyll and mr hyde

0lddog

Quorn recalls a batch of its 2 Gluten Free Burgers packs because of undeclared gluten :


https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/alert/fsa-aa-53-2018

Jellybaby1

I've never tasted Quorn. After I checked it up on Wikipedia, I never will.

irlirishkev

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

I've never tasted Quorn. After I checked it up on Wikipedia, I never will.

I have. Out of curiosity. It's awful, awful stuff..

goat2

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

I've never tasted Quorn. After I checked it up on Wikipedia, I never will.

Like you I did look up how quorn is made, it put me right off,

jim salter

goat2 wrote: »

Like you I did look up how quorn is made, it put me right off,

Sure, it's just like mushrooms

0lddog

goat2 wrote: »

Like you I did look up how quorn is made, it put me right off,

Isnt the name alone enough to do that ?

There was an alert in the other day for some batchs of Whitworths granulated sugar being recalled due to possible shreds of metal.

And another one about some Tropicana product that was fermenting way before BB date

Anyone interested in this sort of stuff can sign up for email alerts from the UK FSA ( Sorry, I'm to lazy to find the link just now. )

rubadub

0lddog wrote: »

Anyone interested in this sort of stuff can sign up for email alerts from the UK FSA ( Sorry, I'm to lazy to find the link just now. )

here is the Irish one https://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/food_alerts.html

thumbs up for these with a bit of honey

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/297673670

Lidl have gf stuff now in the corner. Falafels and desserts and stuff. The desserts are actually 20g protein as well. Not sure about sugar content

Jellybaby1

If you crave GF biscuits then Lidl is the place to go, or Aldi. I've had the Lidl choc chip ones and they are delicious mainly because I think there must be a lot of butter in them so I don't buy them often because when I do I eat the whole darn packet in one day and as I've been trying to lose weight that's bad, really bad. Christmas is over and so I now stop buying GF biscuits. I've never tried making the oat bread as I'm afraid it will turn out as bad as a lot of homemade GF bread. Personally I just keep to fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish and don't worry too much about bread and biscuits. Being Coeliac is a way of life and we just have to adjust to it. When I really have to have bread I keep a store of M & S GF bread rolls in the freezer for emergencies. It tastes lovely and has a light fluffy texture, but is expensive.

Jellybaby1

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

If you crave GF biscuits then Lidl is the place to go, or Aldi. I've had the Lidl choc chip ones and they are delicious mainly because I think there must be a lot of butter in them so I don't buy them often because when I do I eat the whole darn packet in one day

ye i don't buy biscuits anymore.
the hobnobs are amazing also

Personally I just keep to fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish and don't worry too much about bread and biscuits. Being Coeliac is a way of life and we just have to adjust to it. When I really have to have bread I keep a store of M & S GF bread rolls in the freezer for emergencies. It tastes lovely and has a light fluffy texture, but is expensive.

I mostly do the meat and veg but i do like kelkin bread

Jellybaby1

bluewolf wrote: »

ye i don't buy biscuits anymore.
the hobnobs are amazing also

I mostly do the meat and veg but i do like kelkin bread

Then Kelkin must have improved its recipe because when I started eating GF a couple of decades ago it was vile. I'm not sure I want to try it even now.

tossy

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Then Kelkin must have improved its recipe because when I started eating GF a couple of decades ago it was vile. I'm not sure I want to try it even now.

Agree on the Lidl/Aldi biscuits - very tasty.

I can't work up the courage to buy Kelkin bread lol Im still buying M&S bread it's dearer but makes a lovely sandwich.

Found a good Beer over christmas also Wicklow wolf Arcadia, very tasty.

Was in Germany before christmas and found it very hard to find a good GF beer, found one in a supermarket eventually that wasn't great - got some great eating out tips from the gluten free Germany website though.

mario84s

tossy wrote: »

Found a good Beer over christmas also Wicklow wolf Arcadia, very tasty.

Aldi have a good one Brown Bear brand, brewed just outside Newry, Green label, gluten free. €1.99 a 500ml bottle

mario84s

still a dancing queen wrote: »

Apart from claiming back tax, is there any help available for someone who is on a low income and doesn't pay tax?

It is my understanding that 2019 is the last year people can claim tax back for gluten free foods.

Happy4all

mario84s wrote: »

It is my understanding that 2019 is the last year people can claim tax back for gluten free foods.

Where has this been reported?

mario84s

Happy4all wrote: »

Where has this been reported?

I work in Aldi, been telling customers on how to claim the tax back, 1 lady told me she went to actual Revenue office with her letter from GP and that she was told 2019 will be the last year you can make claim for. So I'm assuming in 2020 when you make a claim, that'll be the last one.

I think I'll email Revenue and ask to confirm, will post result as soon as I get a reply.

tossy

mario84s wrote: »

I work in Aldi, been telling customers on how to claim the tax back, 1 lady told me she went to actual Revenue office with her letter from GP and that she was told 2019 will be the last year you can make claim for. So I'm assuming in 2020 when you make a claim, that'll be the last one.

I think I'll email Revenue and ask to confirm, will post result as soon as I get a reply.

Please do.

EdgeCase

I have to say I find gluten free breads generally pretty poor, so I have flipped over to eating a lot more salads, fresh vegetables and do on and I don't touch sandwiches anymore and I just don't try to find gluten alternatives at all.

I just tend to eat things that would be gluten free anyway rather than treating it as a special diet and I've found I'm just eating way better food generally.

Other than it avoids gluten, which would damage my guts, I am enjoying a much better and less processed diet.

I feel much more fit and healthy generally and I think it's more than just eliminating the gut problems. It's also just better food.

mario84s

tossy wrote: »

Please do.

Sorry for the delay, I finally got info back. It doesn't confirm if this is last year you can claim for, it just gives info we all already know. Below is the reply I got to the question of when and does the tax back finish this year.

Good Morning,

I acknowledge receipt of your email.

Please note that you can claim for Gluten Free Foods on a Med 1 Form under other qualifying expenses, along with this form you will need to supply receipts for the foods and also a letter from your doctor confirming your condition.

Kind Regards

Carmel Smith

Louth Customer Service
Tel No: 1890 777 425

mario84s

EdgeCase wrote: »

I have to say I find gluten free breads generally pretty poor

There is a new one in Aldi, Sourdough gluten free. €2.49 a loaf but boy is it worth it

tossy

mario84s wrote: »

Sorry for the delay, I finally got info back. It doesn't confirm if this is last year you can claim for, it just gives info we all already know. Below is the reply I got to the question of when and does the tax back finish this year.

Good Morning,

I acknowledge receipt of your email.

Please note that you can claim for Gluten Free Foods on a Med 1 Form under other qualifying expenses, along with this form you will need to supply receipts for the foods and also a letter from your doctor confirming your condition.

Kind Regards

Carmel Smith

Louth Customer Service
Tel No: 1890 777 425

They need to update their info med 1 form is no longer available. Its now all done under form 12 via the revenue online site.

mario84s

tossy wrote: »

They need to update their info med 1 form is no longer available. Its now all done under form 12 via the revenue online site.

sounds like it was just a copy and paste job on their behalf

AMKC

mario84s wrote: »

There is a new one in Aldi, Sourdough gluten free. €2.49 a loaf but boy is it worth it

I seen that in my local Aldi but they had no price for it so I did not buy it yet. Will have to give it a try. I think Lidl have some new gluten free foods in this week.

mario84s

AMKC wrote: »

I seen that in my local Aldi but they had no price for it so I did not buy it yet. Will have to give it a try. I think Lidl have some new gluten free foods in this week.

€2.49, worth every cent. I'll check out Lidl, thanks a lot. I know in Newry in Sainsbury's, their Honest range brown bread was very good too, had same consistency and taste as normal brown bread.

I don't like the aldi one. I take back what i said about kelkin, Genius toastie is the only way

DavyD_83

mario84s wrote: »

€2.49, worth every cent. I'll check out Lidl, thanks a lot. I know in Newry in Sainsbury's, their Honest range brown bread was very good too, had same consistency and taste as normal brown bread.

MrsD found this over the weekend too, and is delighted with it.
The kids are coeliac, and not allowed any seeds or nuts in school. It's been difficult to find a plain white bread that they'll eat, so this is a breakthrough.

mario84s

DavyD_83 wrote: »

MrsD found this over the weekend too, and is delighted with it.
The kids are coeliac, and not allowed any seeds or nuts in school. It's been difficult to find a plain white bread that they'll eat, so this is a breakthrough.

I've been buying this bread most days since it first came out and I notice it is getting better and better consistency wise, it really feels like the real deal. doesn't break up like other cardboard breads out there at all.

DavyD_83

mario84s wrote: »

I've been buying this bread most days since it first came out and I notice it is getting better and better consistency wise, it really feels like the real deal. doesn't break up like other cardboard breads out there at all.

As the only gluten eater in my house, I've been eating a bit of this lately and gotta agree.
Most plain white GF bread I've tried are either the consistency of Madiera cake (sponge) , or stale bread(crumbly and/or disintegrates in mouth as soon as you chew).
I keep meaning to figure out how to bake a reliable gf white loaf, but haven't had much success. Until then this will fill the gap nicely.

mario84s

DavyD_83 wrote: »

Until then this will fill the gap nicely.

I'm loving this one toasted. It really has kicked off selling as more and more people are trying it, even non Coeliacs. Recipe has definitely improved over the last 2 weeks.

OldMrBrennan83

AMKC wrote: »

I seen that in my local Aldi but they had no price for it so I did not buy it yet. Will have to give it a try. I think Lidl have some new gluten free foods in this week.

The fish nuggets that Lidl had were really nice.

AMKC

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

The fish nuggets that Lidl had were really nice.

I have some in the freezer. Have not tried them yet but did have the fish fillets they had yesterday and that was very nice.

OldMrBrennan83

AMKC wrote: »

I have some in the freezer. Have not tried them yet but did have the fish fillets they had yesterday and that was very nice.

Tried the chicken ones too. Not great at all, very dry, and not a patch on the Birdseye ones I got before.

RentDayBlues

Could I ask a question? Do you think there’s a market for gluten free kids stuff? I’m a coeliac so everything I make is gf, I bake a lot and make most things from scratch

I’m sort of thinking about cakes, kids party catering etc?

mario84s

RentDayBlues wrote: »

Could I ask a question? Do you think there’s a market for gluten free kids stuff? I’m a coeliac so everything I make is gf, I bake a lot and make most things from scratch

I’m sort of thinking about cakes, kids party catering etc?

I work in Aldi, people constantly asking about GF party cakes apart from the usual coffee/lemon/madeira cakes... i'd say you're onto a winner there if you can make something good. unsure of link, but if you have something in mind, google Aldi Grow With Us

RentDayBlues

mario84s wrote: »

I work in Aldi, people constantly asking about GF party cakes apart from the usual coffee/lemon/madeira cakes... i'd say you're onto a winner there if you can make something good. unsure of link, but if you have something in mind, google Aldi Grow With Us

Thank you - I’m a competent baker and rarely have to tell that my cakes are gf as they don’t taste that. I’ll take a look - here’s one of my recent bakes

Chocolate

Over on the Coeliac Parents Ireland Facebook page, people are very excited about the new Aldi Sourdough Cob.

I bought it for my two coeliac children today.
My son loves it. Says it's the most delicious bread yet.
My daughter claims she doesn't really like it (she decided she didn't like it simply by looking at the packet!) but yet she went back for another slice of it today.

So, it's got the thumbs up in our house!

mario84s

RentDayBlues wrote: »

here’s one of my recent bakes

that looks amazing... i hope you find what you're looking for...

tea and coffee

I found the cob a bit dry. I prefer the M and S one or I adore the Sweet potato loaf from BeFree
Has anyone tasted the quinoa crust turkey goujons from Aldi, they are so delicious- far and away the best goujons I have ever tasted.
The most "realistic" soda bread is the McCambridges one- even non-coeliacs didnt realise it was gf

Jellybaby1

#tea and coffee, I absolutely agree with you regarding the sourdough cob in Aldi. After reading the great comments here about it I bought it a couple of days ago and its really dry, I had to slather it with butter and jam. Hope you are right about the McCambridges one as I might try it. I get despondent trying all these flippin' breads!

tossy

The Mccambridge one is great - it's the one Gf bread i have to warn other people in the house not to eat

I actually don't like the cambridge one - has a funny taste to me!
Tasty parlour farmhouse or soda breads are my favourite as well as Genius Toastie

mario84s

Anyone have any suggestions regarding good gluten free craft beers out there?